


Waking the Abyss

by DaedricQueen



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hevie in the long run, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2018-12-27 10:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12078873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaedricQueen/pseuds/DaedricQueen
Summary: The aftermath of Cotillion would bring about events that no one could predict.  In order to free Harry and Gil, the three pirates would have to form a new plan.  Unknown to them, another set of eyes and another plan was brewing in the background.  Swept into the whole ordeal is Evie, captured and used as leverage until Uma's companions are free and the sea is freedom to do as they wish.Yet no plan is perfect as all are going to find out.





	1. It Starts with a Ripple

Cotillion was a disaster. Point blank.

For those like Harry and Gil, being stuck on the Isle and only being able to watch the live broadcast was complete and utter bullshit. The usually laid back and good nature of Gil was wearing on Harry's nerves as the son of Gaston nervously popped boiled egg after boiled egg into his mouth. The rate of consumption was nauseating and the overpowering smell of the eggs was to much for the son of Hook to deal with. Harry's own nervous tick was to drum his nails upon the table top while his narrowed light blue eyes were flitting back and forth among the rest of the crew.

Perhaps, his victorious outcry of _"We ride with the tide"_ previously, had been premature in hindsight. The crew's disposition at the moment was precarious as they watched with slackened jaws as their captain, Uma, seemed to wilt and back down. Turning and fleeing was one thing, but she extended a tentacle to return the wee King Beasty's ring back and that was the nail in the proverbial coffin. Harry could see a mutiny and the slight agreement at the decision from the crew turned his stomach inside out. He swallowed hard and kicked at Gil's feet beneath the table in warning while trying to give a commanding growl to regain the crew's attention.

"Don't yeh all sit there all angry, the Captain will be back soon."

He was met with disgruntled silence as some of the crew didn't even acknowledge him. Instead, they mulled their fates by drinking heavy from their mugs while others in the crew turned to him with contempt. The nearest of the crew that he could tell was going to turn, snarled. The pirate's dark brown eyes narrowing in contempt as he leaned towards Harry and hissed, "she ain't da Captain no more now is she fellas."

Resounding 'ayes' met the remark and Harry felt that chill go down his spine. Beside him, he felt Gil shift in his seat and rest his hands upon the table ready to spring into action when things got nasty. For nasty, things were going to get. A quick count of heads gave Harry a better guess at what the odds were against himself and Gil. From the looks of things, the crew was more or less finished with Uma's captaincy. Those that were already cracking their knuckles, severely outnumbered the paltry few that could of been persuaded to stay with Uma given the right amount of persuasion. Persuasion that Harry, frankly, didn't feel like handing out now as he saw the blank resignation in their faces. Weak, their loyalty was diluted and worthless.

"Guess that means yeh are all out, fine. The lot of yeh aren't worth the time," and with that, Harry pushed himself away from the table and stood suddenly so that he towered above them. He glowered fiercely while drawing his hook and before the crew could make sense of it, slammed the tip into the table with a menacing snarl, "and don't none yeh think yeh can stop me or Gil from leaving."

Gil joined him quickly, standing with an awkward shuffle before breaking away from the group. The tall and well built blonde boy made quick strides to where their swords were checked in and made quick work in locating his and Harry's. A quick toss, and Harry was armed once more before and unarmed crew and he made damn sure that he made a show of being armed. The crew was silent for the most part but he could tell by their gazes, that it was time for himself and Gil to make an exit before someone got to cocky. A tug on his hook freed it from the table and he made flamboyant gestures with his hand as he waved the lethal hook about to drive home the point that he was not to be triffled with nor doubted. "Ta."

Their retreat was at their own leisure as to not show any fear or weakness, but the son of Hook felt his heartbeat in his throat as he trailed after Gil with a false bravado.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The docks were abandoned save for Harry and Gil as they stood beside the other and scanned the horizon for any sign of Uma. They knew their captain would return, because that's how strong their bond was to the very core.

"The barrier makes it hard to see," Gil piped in, he had always had a hard time standing about in silence. Perhaps it was something to do with his dad, Harry reckoned, the whole boasting and bragging that came with being 'The Gaston.' From the few times Harry had had the displeasure of meeting Gaston, he gathered that Gaston's mood was easily told by how much he talked. Gaston's idea of a conversation was completely one sided and he did love to drone on about his strength, accomplishments, good looks, prowess, and all other useless drivel that bored Harry to death. Silence from Gaston meant violence from Gaston, and that infuriated Harry when it came to the loss of Gil's good nature because no matter how ill timed Gil could be, he meant well at his core.

"Aye Gil, but yeh know as well as I that our Captain is out there. Somewhere."

They lapsed into silence again and it was to much for Harry. He raked his fingers through his thick dark brownish black curls and cursed aloud. His gaze whipped about in attempt to find something that could help or be of use because being this idle was unacceptable. All that met his eyes were docked ships, bobbing in the waves and taunting him with the simplicity of it all. If the crew had only been loyal, if only they hadn't been so quick to turncoat...they could of boarded Uma's own ship and paroled the edge of the barrier for the sea witch's daughter. Yet they were only two and you couldn't sail a ship with just two and not expect problems.

"-arry!"

Harry was shook from his self loathing at not being a firm enough first mate to keep the confidence of his crew, by Gil's loud repetition of his name. Snapping his head about to bark out an order for silence, Harry instead was silenced by Gil pointedly stabbing his right finger at a small sailing dinghy that was barely visible on the main jetty. The look of pride on Gil's face was enough to bring a smile to Harry's own face as he clapped a hand upon Gil's back and laughed. They wasted no time at all approaching the small little boat and Harry drew his sword with a flourish. Gil jumped in first, steadying the boat as he landed upon the aging boards. Harry following behind, but not before he severed the rope mooring the boat to the jetty with an elegant twist of his sword hand. A sharpened blade is a pirate's best friend and the boat made to break away from the jetty in finding that it's restraints were gone. Jumping in, Harry grinned at Gil and seized the paddles before settling down into the dinghy and putting the paddles into the water to begin to row out towards the barrier.

"Yeh did good Gil, yeh did damn good indeed."

"We'll find her, right Harry?"

"Course we will, and then we'll find a way off this island once and for all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite her power, Uma's attempts at breaking the barrier were futile as she repeatedly slammed her fists and the sea against the barrier. On the other side of the barrier, the night sky was clear and the moon illuminated the sweat that ran down her neck as she bodily threw herself into the barrier. Yet it stood resolute, not even flickering at the impact of her body or the sea. She was angry, so angry but she couldn't tell who or what she was angry at. Was she angry at Mal for essentially winning again? Mad at Ben for making her feel guilt and shame at her own actions? Mad at herself for wanting to believe in the bright promise Ben offered her and the youth of the Isle? Or was she mad at this damn barrier? That had to be it, because there was nothing worse than the barrier that created the prison she and the others had been born into. Auradon had it all and the Isle had nothing. Where the offspring of heroes could be selfish and spoiled, the children of the Isle were born into the sins of their parents at their first breath.

Even now, she held such resentment to the barrier as she could see inside it and make out the perpetual fog that obscured the world from the inside. On the Isle, there was no such thing as pure sunshine. The sun pierced through clouds of smog and sulfur to those trapped in the makeshift prison and it was only another insult to be outside it now while the only ones she cared about were stuck inside.

"Damn it!" She screamed til her throat was raw, beating away at the stalwart barrier til the skin of her fists split and blood trekked down her wrists and arms to disperse into the sea watch. "Let me the fuck in!"

Desperation was setting in as well as helplessness as she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. The threat of crying looming just as she caught the muffled sound of two voices hollering her name. At the sounds, she went still just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Sight of the Harry and Gil came through the fog and she cried out, pressing herself to the invisible was as tears of joy streaked down her face and she rested her forehead to the barrier.

"Now now captain, dun get yeh-self all worked up yet. We bring grim news," Harry's tone had started off playful but grew somber at the end. Uma didn't care as she lifted her gaze and met his chilling blue eyes. She took in his presence and Gil's and nodded, she already had expected her crew to break allegiance but it still hurt to see only Gil and Harry there for her. Dwelling wouldn't fix anything tho so she forced a smile upon her face as she taunted Harry right back.

"I'll take it the crew is gone. It's just us now huh?"

Harry's nodded head confirmed it all and Uma nodded back more for herself instead of acknowledgement. She couldn't fault them and she wouldn't. At the same time, she couldn't think about leaving Harry and Gil on the other side. Not with a mutinous crew now at the helm of _her_ ship. "Guess we'll just have to start over once I get back, or you get out."

The look of skepticism on Harry's face was priceless and he instantly went into a whole tirade about how impossible that task. Between the two, they attempted to come up with some idea or plot that could be feasible while in the meantime Gil was stretched out and stargazing. His brow furrowed in thought as he tuned out Harry and Uma, and instead thought about the VK's that had gone good. Mal was a dragon so that would be tricky and Jay was pretty strong and resourceful. Carlos was a bit odd in Gil's opinion, he was an obvious nerd and could of been a weak spot expect that dog. That dog was a liability and an obstacle. That left the princess.

Gil jerked up quickly, "Evie! That's how we get out of here! Evie!"

Uma and Harry both went silent at the outburst and Harry was about to tell Gil off but was beaten to the punch as Gil continued on his tangent.

"We snatch up Evie! She's best friend's with Mal and Mal's got the King for a boyfriend. We get Evie, we ransom her for like...a new ship and our freedom. We swap and then we sail off into the big blue sea and never see our parents or anyone we don't want to see, again!

He was practically glowing with excitement over his own plan and both Harry and Uma couldn't dispute it in the long run. The big picture was ideal, freedom to sail the seas and oceans on a brand new ship of their own. No one to answer to except the call of the sea and no one to tell them about who they were or who they were supposed to be. It sounded like freedom and to the three of them, freedom was the sweetest fruit they wanted to indulge in. Uma looked to Harry and Harry nodded in turn, finding the suggestion made the most sense and they had an ideal time frame to work in.

"Tis Cotillion for all those pretty princesses and their dapper dandy princes, if there ever was a night to strike...it's now Uma."

The daughter of the sea witch nodded, a sly smirk dawning upon her lips as she slowly sank into the waters and called back to Harry and Gil, "be prepared to move."


	2. With the Setting Sun

The night wind was crisp and cooling as it teased through Evie's dark blue tresses like fingers as she jovially skipped ahead of Doug in her precarious heels. His voice barely breaking through her thoughts as he called out a warning about being careful in her heels but with a charming chuckle to his words. Yet she was lost in her bliss and just turned her head back to look at him and flashed a vicarious smile.

It must of been inspiring because within a flash, Doug laughed aloud and his pace quickened so he was beside her. His hand slipping with ease into her own as they skipped a few paces side by side until both ended up in a leisurely stroll. Her smile never cracking as she gave his hand a squeeze in appreciation of each and every tender moment he gave her.

"Someone is happy," he replied in turn, giving her hand a squeeze in return and Evie laughed. The sound as clear as a bell and just as enchanting as she threw back her head and let her gaze turn to the sky. 

"Happy is putting it lightly," she grinned as she paused to admire the stars and take in all around her. The events of the night were like a dream to her, so surreal and surpassing her wildest fantasies. Wealth was within her grasp but that didn't give her happiness nor this warmth deep in her soul. It was what that wealth could do and not just for herself, but for others. Dizzy Tremaine, her dear and brilliant 'little' sister was going to be given a chance to choose her own happy ending and so were other children of the Isle. Evie's brain was ablaze with plans for the youth of the Isle and her plans went beyond the super young but to the teens as well. Those within her own age range that had suffered at the hands of their parents and become warped shells of what they could be. She had yet to discuss _those_ youth with Ben, but she knew that the kind King would agree that the teenage youth of the Isle deserved a chance as well and those chances would have to come with extra guidance. Not just the Remedial Goodness classes that Fairy Godmother offered, no, they would have to go above and beyond. Therapy sessions would benefit the teenage age youth that didn't have the advantages that Evie and the other VK's had had.

Beauty had motivated the Evil Queen's parenting and that had been Evie's battle to overcome when she first arrived at Auradon Prep. At first, she had mirrored her mother's ambitions until her wake up call with the help of Doug, and unwittingly, Chad. Jafar had had use of Jay to procure wares so as long as Jay provided, so did Jafar. Cruella just wanted to live that posh lifestyle and had Carlos keeping house and not underfoot. The saying, 'out of sight, out of mind' could of been Cruella's motto, but Carlos also had had a strong friendship with Evie, Jay, and Mal. Mal was a harder story to see an advantage too but Evie suspected that Mal just needed to feel appreciated for being her own person instead of a shadow of her mother. They were lucky and Evie knew that and she was going to be sure that the youth of the Isle, got all the help they needed.

"Being back on the Isle," she started, her voice suddenly soft as she took in her surroundings and marveled again at the beauty of the dimly lit cobblestone path and it's thin canopy of tree limbs above, "I couldn't pretend anymore." Her confession hurt to say once again but it didn't cut as deep because she knew that Doug, like the other's, would understand her conflicting feelings. That was how kind of heart he was, he understood. To prove that point, he gave her hand another reassuring squeeze as he turned about to face her and took her other hand in his. "I was so determined to be an Auradon girl that I forgot the children. I forgot Dizzy and seeing her again was a wake up call. The Isle is part of me and without the Isle, how could I be what I am today with 4Hearts?"

She hadn't noticed her grip on Doug's hands had lessened until she made to pull her hands back and wrap them about her shoulders as though she was cold. Doug let her hands slip from his grasp with an understanding smile and as her head ducked unconsciously down to hide her face from the world, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms about her tenderly.

"You're amazing Evie, and Auradon is better with you, Jay, Carlos and Mal all here. I'm confident that you and Ben will be able to handle the upcoming new arrivals and you can rest assured I'll be here to help with that as well. We are partners after all."

Evie giggled in his arms and tapped a finger upon his shoulder. He released her slowly and smiled fondly at her before he bumped a fist lightly against her shoulder and made a 'tsk' sound.

"Alas my fair lady, the hour grows late and no matter how much we danced the fair night away...thy clothing is still a bit wet as is mine."

Evie snorted and she would deny it if he asked if he heard such a sound come from her, and thumped her own fist into his shoulder with a chiding smirk. "Alas my charming gent, you are right." Before he could get a word in, she leaned forward and kissed him delicately upon the cheek before darting about him and once again skipping a few paces towards the dorms.

Fine hairs raising along her neck made her stop suddenly and she blinked. Time slowed as her brain caught up with her senses to process something she had heard, the sound barely audible but something she had recently experienced. The sound of metal drawing along leather, the slight scrape that had the first pumps of adrenaline hitting her system. She was hypersensitive in that millisecond as she processed the shift of her heels upon the cobblestones and the sudden intake of breath that sounded behind her. It was the muffled 'shhh' that made her blood run cold before she slowly turned around to look at Doug and hope, hope that this was a bad dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gil's outburst to ensnare Evie had first sounded ridiculous to Uma, but the next moment it had made sense. Mal wouldn't expect her a third time and this time, Uma wasn't going to fail. It was that resolution that had given her the confidence to return so close to Auradon with a scheme already solidifying on what to do immediately since Gil, bless his heart, wasn't a fine details kind of guy.

Her Cotillion dress was the only thing she had on hand to wear, and while it wasn't her go to outfit for a kidnapping she would make it work. Uma had her sword, she hadn't been so daft as to dive outside of the barrier without it since she didn't know what she'd find outside. Her original clothing was back at the Prep school from when she had snuck in to find and spell Ben. From there, it had been a rush job using Mal's spellbook to change an old dress into the dress she now wore. With the spellbook out of her grasp, she didn't think herself capable of conjuring up a more versatile outfit but that was an easy fix. An ominous feeling had her stashing her sword by the shore of which she had emerged and upon leaving Harry and Gil, she had sought out her sword since it was her leverage.

No one wouldn't take a sharp sword to their throat serious.

Upon finding her sword untouched, she went to work ripping her dress until it fell to her knees and was ideal for quick movements. There wasn't a trench deep enough that would hide her embarrassment if she tripped over the yards and yards of tulle, while trying to deal with a hostage. With her sword and sheath strapped across her chest, she felt like herself again and not like the wannabe princess she had put up with while her first scheme was underway. This Uma was the real her, a pirate Captain with cold steel at her side and a scowl upon her lips. In her element, she had ducked and weaved her way to where she could see the yacht that was used to host Cotillion, making its way back to port to dock.

Lucky for her that the little princess was easily identifiable with her blue hair and blue, shortened party dress. She stuck out without trying and Uma waited patiently as party goers disembarked over the next couple hours. The party was going strong on the yacht and Uma had to sit patiently among the foilage but her patience paid off round midnight. The princess was one of the few that was now leaving the yacht and she only had one person in tow. Perfect, Uma wouldn't have to write her demands but send the little lackey (cause who the fuck was this guy, she didn't know him) to pass her message along. She'd scare him good so that he knew she wasn't messing around and he didn't look tough so bully for her.

The sea witch's daughter said a quick thank you to no one in particular as Evie and her little boy toy, took a path that no one else she had seen, had taken. Everything was coming up roses for her, no one else could interfere! Slinking back, she circled around the pathways, keeping the head of dark blue in sight. When she came upon them, she hung back and out of sight. Her brow furrowing as they embraced, since when had the little princess settled for someone less than royalty? The guy wasn't impressive in her book, he seemed more like the homely nerd type which made Uma wonder if Evie had the poor sod wrapped about her finger.

All Uma had seen of Evie on the allowed televised broadcasts, were snippets and bits about her fashion line. Praises upon praises had been draped along the little princess' head and Uma begrudgingly agreed that her line was impressive. While Mal seemed to of turned her back completely upon the Isle and became some poster child for reformed baddie, Evie had flourished and kept true to her Isle fashion roots. They hadn't stopped the little princess from forgetting about the others on the Isle and that would be the bone of contention that Uma would hold against her.

The guy was a mystery but she wasn't inclined to learn anything about him. Her moment to strike was fast approaching as the unlikely pairing separated and Evie moved past the guy to skip down the path without a care in the world. That was her mistake and Uma was already moving to strike quick and fast. The guy was daft, he just stood there with his back to her and his posture was relaxed. She knew two things within that moment as she drew her blade and came up upon him swiftly.

1\. He wasn't a fighter  
2\. Evie wasn't going to be able to slip away from her, she cared about this guy.

Uma was at Doug's back within a flash, sword in her right hand with a firm grip and poised as she put her left hand firmly upon his shoulder. A hushed 'shhhh' against the back of his neck as she got deliciously close and whipped her sword about his head to press the honed edge of her blade to his throat. He swallowed and she grinned maliciously as she felt his adam's apple bob upon the cold steel and his body go rigid against her's. A glance over his shoulder rewarded her with the widened eyes of Evie and Uma felt a thrill unlike any she had ever felt before.

Her lesson had been well learned, she wouldn't give any room to move and was going straight for the throat. Literally. The look of shock and dismay upon Evie's face was intoxicating and Uma knew she was 100% in control. She smiled at Evie and she could only imagine what that looked like to the blue headed princess before her. She hoped she looked intimidating, she wished the mere flash of her white teeth was like staring into the jaws of a great white before the apex predator struck.

"Evening there princess, hope I haven't interrupted anything to magical." Sarcasm dripped like honey in her words as she continued to smile wickedly at Evie. Evie in return swallowed, her eyes darting between Doug and Uma before she turned the weight of her gaze upon Uma alone.

"What do you want now Uma?"

The princess' voice hitched at the end and Uma laughed aloud, she was going to be victorious here! She knew it, Evie knew it, the fear had been so evident in her voice and Uma reveled in the hints of desperation.

"Nothing much princess, just you. Coming with me, or else I slit this little boy's throat right here and you get to watch him bleed out all over these pristine pebbles."

Uma punctuated her promise by applying pressure to Doug's throat with her sword, not enough to cause grievous injury but enough for the wicked blade to lacerate skin and draw a thin trail of blood to course down his throat. To his credit and her surprise, Doug didn't make a sound but she felt him flinch. Evie on the other hand gave a gasp that she tried to stiffle behind a hand that pressed suddenly to her mouth. She watched in horror as the trail of blood steadily made it's way to the stark white of his button up and began to stain it crimson. Her hand shook as she lowered it and tried to put a brave face on.

"Evie-" Doug started to say but was silenced as Uma moved her hand from his shoulder to his head, her fingers wrapping into his short brown hair before she tugged his head back. He hissed in pain, the expanse of his throat bared to her sword as she adjusted it once again close and intimate to his jugular.

"Now now, let the villains talk," Uma's voice a cold threat, her eyes just as cold and determined to stop any ideas of negotiating or escape. She had a strong grip upon Doug and had proven she wouldn't think twice upon drawing blood. At Doug's sound of pain, Evie had jerked forward and raised her hands in surrender. 

"Stop this Uma, I'll go with you. Just don't hurt Doug, please. I'll come, just stop." Her voice shook as did her hands and Uma relaxed her grip upon Doug's hair. Sword still pressed to his throat, she let her hand drop from his head. Fingers slowly sliding down the back of his neck and along his back much to his discomfort. She curled her fingers slightly so that her nails dragged along the fabric of his jacket with the slightest pressure before they came to his belt. Placing her thumb upon the supple leather of his belt, she slipped her arm about his waist and let her hand follow along his belt until the tips of her fingers came upon the buckle. He stiffened and Evie did as well, confusion and anger showing in her dark brown eyes.

Uma made quick work of removing Doug's belt, holding it out in front of him before whispering in his ear to take it. He did after a few moments hesitation and then, when it was secure in his hands, Uma beckoned for Evie to come closer. The little princess moved sluggishly slow, eyeing the belt with confusion until she was standing in front of Doug and Uma. Uma motioned for her to turn around then and Evie hesitated to which the sea witch clicked her tongue and tapped her blade upon Doug's throat. That spurred the princess to turn about.

"Bind her wrists behind her back, tightly."

Doug jolted as if he had been shocked and stammered that he couldn't do it but Uma just reminded him with her blade that he was in no position to bargain with her. To that, he choked and began to stammer his apologies to Evie as he threaded the belt through the buckle about her wrists and pulled tight. Uma had him wind the belt a few more times before he knotted it and let Evie's bound wrist drop with a dejected whimper.

Removing her blade from his throat, Uma pulled back only to slam the handle of her sword against the side of Doug's head. He crumpled at her feet and before Evie could process this new development, Uma grabbed her by the shoulder and dug her nails into Evie's flesh. The princess cried out in pain, her knees buckling slightly before Uma rammed her shoulder into Evie's back to make her step forward. Stepping over Doug's still form, she glanced down at the knocked out youth and frowned. She hadn't meant to knock the guy out, but she'd deal with those repercussions later. For now, she had to get the ransom to a secure location before putting the next part of her plan into motion.

So far, everything was going swimmingly well and Evie's choked sob reassured her that she didn't have any fight in her at the moment to defy the young sea witch.

"Come on princess, shift yourself or I'll start to carve up that pretty little face of yours too."

Evie, beaten in that moment, complied and was easily moved by Uma. Unseen by any others, the two disappeared into the thick of the forest while Doug gave a groan and rolled upon his back.


	3. Evil Watches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New villain~~

Uma was in a bit of a tight spot. With knocking out the witness to her snatching the princess, she had left herself no means of communicating her demands in a safe way of sorts. The realization was a thorn in her side since time was of the essence to ensure Harry and Gil's safety. Watching the princess stumble before her, made the young pirate captain consider her options when her gaze found the red flag that made her halt suddenly and jerk back upon Evie's shoulder.

"What's that!"

It probably would of been best to let the princess turn about to face her and see what she was making a scene over. Instead, she forcefully turned the princess about to face her, who in turn, looked confused as to what Uma was speaking of.

"What?"

"THAT!"

Uma gestured wildly at the small, red clutch that was suspended at Evie's wrist that had swayed into sight. She must of missed its presence while she had been lost in the moment of securing her hostage. It was a rookie mistake to miss something so noticeable. Having her attention drawn to it as well, Evie just starred wide eyed at it before something clicked in her head. Her phone was in there, her phone. She was absolutely shit at lying on the spot so she knew better than to try to trick Uma, so she sighed and raised her gaze to Uma's with resignation.

"My purse, it has my phone in it."

The words no sooner out of her mouth before Uma drew her sword and slipped the tip of her blade beneath the flimsy strap. Evie winced at the touch of cold steel before Uma sawed swiftly through the material and her clutch fell to the ground. Before Evie could even think to kick the clutch away, Uma snatched it up and sheathed her sword once more. The pirate hissed out a warning to stay still and Evie complied regrettably. Soon enough, Uma had the alien piece of tech open and she looked at Evie apprehensively.

"How do I send one of those written message things, to Ben."

Evie battled with the idea of being defiant to the end but knew that would do no one any good, so she gave Uma instructions to open the messaging App and how to type out her message. When Uma finished, she paused with the phone in her hand before eyeing Evie. The device was a handy thing to have to communicate further, but a gut instinct told her not to trust the device for some reason or another. Trusting in her instinct, she let the phone fall to the ground and crushed it beneath her heel much to the horror of Evie.

"Why did you do that?" The princess gasped, starring at the remains of her phone before she glared at Uma. 

"You can buy another one, don't be such a drama queen like Mal," she shrugged before forcing Evie to turn around again before she pushed her along, headed once again towards the cove she had secured.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been in the AM when Uma's message would arrive to Ben's phone but the King had been distracted and missed the message. If he had gotten it, things might of ended up different. After Cotillion, he and Mal had returned to his room where they had curled up on at the foot of his bed and just talked. They had patched up their relationship and made promises to both work together, and before long they had dozed off with hands clasped.

Only to be woken up hours later to fists slamming on the door. Ben was the first roused and he tumbled out of bed clumsily and rubbed at his eyes as he shuffled to the door. With a yawn, he opened the door only to jump back as Doug slumped through the door frame and wildly clutched at the front of his shirt. Nothing could of woken the young King faster than the sight of Doug as the son of Dopey struggled to get his footing beneath him.

"Ben, who is that at the d-Doug?"

Mal had made her way forward, coming to Doug's aid. Both Ben and Mal supported Doug and slowly guided him to take a seat before Mal began to question Doug.

"What happened Doug? Who did this?"

The male seemed to struggle with something before he put his head into his hands and ground out a strained, "Uma. She has Evie."

Ben's eyes widened as Mal went rigid and both starred at Doug in disbelief. Had they heard correctly? Mal fought back the urge to shake Doug for more answers, instead she jumped up and began to pace while biting at her lower lip in agitation. Finally she broke off and receded into her room, more than likely going to find her phone to try to call Evie or possibly alert the boys. If there was one thing that Ben was positive about 100%, it was that the VK's were a tight knit group and an attack on one, was an attack on them all. With Mal out of the room, he went to his knees in front of Doug and put a reassuring hand upon the other male's back.

"Doug, this wasn't your fault."

It seemed those were not the words that Doug needed to hear in that moment as he laughed bitterly and dropped his hands and sat up, pushing Ben's hand away with a scowl. "You think I don't know that? That doesn't stop the thought though and it doesn't help that I wasn't strong enough to stop her." He was bitter and Ben knew not to push until he had calmed down but before he could apologize, Mal burst back into the room and in her hand was Ben's phone.

"She wants us to release Harry and Gil from the Isle, today."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By be prepared, Harry had taken Uma's plan to be going into immediate motion. He and Gil had not parted ways since the risk was to high. Who knew where loyalties now laid on the Isle now that Harry and Gil had both separated themselves from their crew. Both knew that their movements would be monitored and now without the strength of a crew at their backs, it could be open season upon them.

Returning to the _Lost Revenge_ was out so that left them to returning to their respective homes to gather a few belongings and neither were thrilled at that prospect. Of the two though, it would be safer for them both to head to Harry's first. Gritting his teeth, Harry regarded the _Jolly Roger_ with dislike but finally forced his feet to cross the boardwalk and board the massive vessel. Gil fell into place behind him, silent from the sheer weight of the situation. With luck on their side, they managed to avoid any of his father's crew and entered Harry's room without disturbance.

With haste, Harry snatched up a leather satchel and tossed it to the center of the room. His thoughts were a-whirl and he moved like a man on a mission, tossing a pair of black breeches towards the satchel. Gil went to work folding the breeches and packing them into the satchel to which Harry rolled his eyes but then tossed two distressed shirts with their sleeves removed, to Gil to pack as well. From beside his old hammock, he fished about a drawer for the last bit of items he wanted to take with him. The tarnished brass telescope he found first followed by two notched, but still sharp, knives. Marching over to Gil, he shoved the items into Gil's hands before he scoured his room for the last thing he wanted.

In the midst of it all, the two boys had missed the door being opened slowly until a sweet voice mocked them, "looking for this little brother?"

Pivoting fast, Harry drew his sword and bit back a growl at the sight of his elder sister leaning against the door frame sporting a smug sneer on her face. From a finger, she dangled a flintlock pistol. The same flintlock pistol he had swiped from a drunken pirate as a wee little lad from off this very ship. He cursed his fate at that moment for not stowing the gun away in a more secretive location and judging from the look of delight on Harriet's face, she knew that.

"Give it here," he growled, extending his hand and beckoning for it's return. The second damned time in less than two days that he had to resort to begging for something to be returned to him! Damn Jay and damn Harriet. There was little love left between the children of James Hook, a pirate Captain who had instilled the importance of being the best that the three children had seen the others as competition and not family. Captain Hook had never doted on his children, instead, he forced them to compete among themselves for his favor.

"I think not little brother," Harriet practically purred, "but then again I might be swayed, you just have to agree that I am the successor."

Harry froze and looked at his sister with disbelief, perhaps things would go his way if he didn't botch this up. "Successor?"

"Aye," she said, tossing the pistol to Gil who caught it and awkwardly put it into Harry's satchel and placed the bag behind his back, eyeing the Hook siblings warily. "Now that your little Captain is gone, you'll come back to Da on your knees and beg to be welcomed back. Ye best know now that I'm the one who'll succeed him. I'm the one who will Captain this ship, not you." Harriet didn't bother to wait for his reply, not that he really had one, and turned with a wave and sauntered out of the room with a laugh. Harry was left looking at her retreating form in disbelief that she thought that he'd being staying. That he'd be _groveling_ at their father's feet to join up with a crew that had abused him. If he wasn't so baffled by the assumption, he would of been laughing until his ribs ached.

"Your joining your dad's crew?" Gil questioned.

"Aye," Harry snorted, "of course not, don't be daft!"

"Oh, but she said-"

"Gil, Harriet's a bitch." Harry frowned at Gil and Gil just blinked at Harry, before long they both shrugged and looked about Harry's room for the last time. They suspected they'd never be here again and that was fine with Harry. Gil handed Harry the satchel and Harry took it, slinging it over his shoulder before clapping a hand to Gil's shoulder. His voice suddenly grim as they both knew what was coming next. "Your turn."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aching joints riddled the powerless god, forced to inhabit a mortal body that felt the cold in the winter and felt weary in the rain. Bitter was the god as he watched the whelps of Hook and Gaston steal towards the dock with meager belongings. Bitter was the taste in his mouth, he knew what was happening and he was planning his own revenge. Each time the barrier had been opened in the past, he had felt his old strength seep back into his bones and rekindle at his godhood. He didn't have the strength to return to his former glory, but he had the strength to defy the natural order of things once again.

He would rise and he would waken a terror once more upon the mortals. A terror that would dash any prospects of happiness for the Sea Witch's welp as well as crush the Hook and Gaston brats. It would ravage the oceans and seas, wrecking commerce and put the fear of monsters once more into the hearts of men. Let them live in their fragile little dream for now, for he would waken the Kracken once more and then call upon those that had black in their hearts and hate in their blood. New villains to rule the world and he would sit once more upon that throne. Hades would be heard and he'd crush those that defied him.

Shrugging out of his tattered and dirtied cloak, he would meld into the shadows once more all the while keeping his eye out for the moment to traverse the barrier and then, he would begin his wrath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is a bad idea."

It was the tenth time Carlos had said the same sentence in the last hour and Ben had to agree, but Mal was insistent that this was the only way. They had exhausted all the other options early on, like when Mal had first told Carlos about Uma's message. He was the techie in their group and pointed out that he could track Evie's phone and that had given Mal hope for finding Evie without bending to Uma's demands. Even when they had found that Evie's phone was off, Carlos mentioned that he could find the exact location where it had gone out but that hadn't helped since Doug recognized the location as being a few minutes from where Uma had gotten the drop on him and Evie. Then they turned to using Dude to track Evie's scent, but that had been a bust as Dude just looked at them like they were foolish.

"I know," Ben was solemn as he joined Carlos in the limo and Jay climbed into the driver's seat. Outside the limo, Mal was standing with her arms folded in front of her chest and a frustrated scowl. Ben instantly felt guilty but Uma had made it abundantly clear that Ben, Carlos, and Jay were to be the ones to get Harry and Gil. From there, she would get in touch with Ben once more again to come to terms. Harry and Gil for Evie, it seemed so simplistic but Mal had been adamant to say that Uma was a drama queen so she didn't have anything else to demand at the moment. She was reaching for straws, Mal had put it.

"Ben, this is a really bad idea."

Ben sighed and gave Carlos a pleading look to just drop it. Carlos scowled in return and Ben tried not to laugh but still cracked a small grin, VK's and their signature scowl. Both boys settled back into the limo and waited for Jay to turn on the engine, drop the barrier, and cross the magical bridge towards the Isle.

When they pulled up and saw Harry and Gil standing there, Ben steeled himself for come what may. The limo door opened slowly and he stepped out, Carlos following with a grumbled "bad bad bad idea."

"Harry. Gil."

The pirates in response, just nodded and approached the lime slowly. While Harry held a leather satchel, Ben was pained to see Gil holding a trash bag and he couldn't help but glance at Carlos. The son of Cruella de Vil didn't seem to miss the same detail and was looking at Gil with sympathy, but a snarl from Harry had Carlos scurrying back into the limo. Ben sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and turned to follow suit.

Harry and Gil both sat down immediately right next to the limo doors and Ben had to awkwardly move around their knees to take his place at the front of the limo. Jay lowered the shade that separated the driver and passenger portion of the limo from the actual limo, and glared at Harry straight on. "She better be safe."

Harry sneered, "don't worry your pretty little head Jay, I'm sure your pretty little preppy princess is right as rain. For now." The thinly veiled threat put Ben on edge and he had to remain neutral as he lifted his hands between the two alpha males.

"This isn't the time for this."

Jay huffed, and turned to face forward. The key none to gently being turned and the engine roaring to life as he pulled the limo round about and headed for the opening in the barrier. Once again they were crossing the bridge and Ben massaged him temple. Carlos was silent as the grave, fidgeting with the zipper to his leather jacket while Harry and Gil were both staring out the window of the limo. Things happened so fast that Ben would later be unsure in what order things went down. He vaguely remembered seeing Harry tense before knocking a hand to Gil's knee. Gil had turned face with a question but was cut off as he must of seen what Harry was alerted to and by then, Ben was curious as well. He had turned towards his own window and was confused to see nothing of interest, until he did.

Uma was beneath them and once more, her tentacles were emerging from the waves. She must of beckoned to them and Harry must of been more reckless than he had believed for the next few seconds were chaotic. Harry had thrown open the limo door and threw himself out of the moving vehicle with his bag clutched tight in his hands. Gil followed behind him with a slight hesitation, but he exited the vehicle just as swiftly. Carlos had yelled something before Jay slammed on the brakes and they all tumbled out of the limo, wary of where the magical bridge ended.

Uma's tentacles must of grabbed Harry and Gil out of midair before she had dove deep, swiftly towing her remaining crew in tow. They were no where to be seen and Jay coughed, urgently pushing Ben and Carlos back into the limo before he jumped back into the driver seat and sped back to their side of the bridge. Back to Auradon and back to Mal who would be furious with them.

"This was a bad idea," Ben spoke quietly and Carlos nodded.

"We're screwed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize in advance for the next chapter, Evie and Harry will finally meet face to face again and things are going to escalate rather quickly.


	4. Malestrom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> False alert on the chapter warning from the laaaast chapter. The next one will be why this story has an archive warning for violence.
> 
> Hevie is endgame I swear, I'm just a bit sadistic and like the idea of Harry being so blind in his anger that he doesn't realize he doesn't know jack about Evie.

Evie visibly flinched as she witnessed Uma surface from the water, her tentacles whipping around to grasp at the cave walls of the submerged cavern. The resourceful witch, she thought bitterly as Uma hoisted herself out of the waters and landed upon the sea worn rocks without batting a lash at the whole endevor. From behind her rose two more tentacles, each held a spluttering pirate much to her distress as she determined that the two were Harry and GIl. If Evie's position hadn't been as it was, she would of laughed at the sight of the two and their water logged attire. Indeed she would of giggled at their misfortune once upon a time if this was the Isle, but this wasn't. This was Auradon and now, Auradon had three less than cheeful pirates and given Harry's disposition, one said pirate was going to have himself a fit if he wasn't warmed up soon.

Harry's dark curls were plastered to his face and his eyeliner must not of been water proof (amateur) because it was streaking down his face as he spat out a mouthful of water and colorful curses that would of made even Maleficent blush. Gil looked just as bad off minus the black streaks, but it didn't help that his usual attire never sported any sleeves so he'd catch his death soon if he wasn't smart about it.

Uma dropped them both as soon as she was able to, her form constricting until she was once more on two legs. The female pirate was unfazed by the whole transition and the nasty looks her two compatriots were shooting her as she shook droplets of water from her turquoise braids. Flicking her braids over her shoulders in a very brazen way, she looked at the two male pirates who were seated upon the rocks where she had dumped them, and gave them a smug smirk.

"What? I got you out didn't I?" She set her hands upon her hips before she approached where Evie was tied to an anchor. A bloody anchor, how Uma had been able to find the damned thing in so small a window baffled Evie. Yet there she was, bound at the wrists by her own belt still while her ankles were bound by seaweed. Once again, a resourceful witch indeed. She almost admired Uma when she had first seen the girl lift the sea weed from the water with a smirk on her face but dawned on her a few seconds later how masochistic it seemed to be smiling at her captor with a new source of restraints in her hand.

Evie eyed the pirate carefully as Uma crouched in front of her, "now princess. We move again."

Again?

"Move?" Gil piped up as he peeked from about Uma's shoulder and gave Evie a slight wave like they were friends. She would never understand Gil, he was almost endearing unlike Harry who was giving her a cold stare that made her want to snap at him to buzz off.

"Yes Gil, move. Those goodie two-shoes saw us escape by water so they'll start to scout out by the water. I'm not going to risk everything by staying here so we're moving inland."

Uma's reasoning made sense to Evie and she felt her hopes dash upon the rocks as Uma stood once more and gave Gil some sort of signal. He shuffled forward and slipped a strong arm around Evie's waist and hoisted her up like she weighed nothing. She gave a slight groan of dismay as his wet skin pressed into hers and she knew she was not going to like whatever came next..He was surprisingly gentle with her as he slung her over his shoulder and she blinked, mouth opening to say she could walk on her own when Harry stepped into her line of vision.

"Not a chance," he seemed to read her mind, simultaneously untying the red scarf he wore at his waist. "I dun trust ye to keep that mouth of your's shut even if we threatened you." Indignation flushed through her system as he roughly wrapped the scarf about her mouth and then over her eyes. Strands of her sapphire blue hair was caught between his fingers and the fabric of the soaked scarf, the taste of water logged fabric revolting as it invaded her mouth as she tried to protest. Yet he quickly tied a knot and muffled her words, simultaneously tugging uncomfortably at her hair which made her gasp and start to thrash. 

A heavy hand, to whom it belonged she couldn't identify at that second, gripped her jaw in a tight vice. It had the desired effect though as she stilled in fear as pressure compressed on either side of her jaw bone and her head was jerked upwards. It was a painful angle and she had to arch her back to alleviate the pain.

"I won't warn ye again princess," the voice unmistakably Harry's as he not just released her jaw, put pushed her head down and released her. Evie felt dazed, her vision was blocked out and she was terrified at what could possibly come next. She lay strewn across Gil's shoulders still, the crunch of Harry's boots as he stalked off probably to hiss and plot with Uma a welcome sound. Evie was left to mull over her fate and despair, her body giving a slight jerk as she felt a wet hand pat her back hesitantly.

"Sorry Evie," Gil apologized but she didn't make a sound and an awkward silence passed between them before Gil moved to follow after Uma and Harry. Evie was left to hope desperately that she would waken from this nightmare or for Mal to find her. Mal would come for her and so would her friends, she knew they'd be doing whatever they could do get her back. While that should of comforted her, an ugly voice in her head started to question the validity of that belief. What if Mal didn't care? What if Jay just shrugged and Carlos was to afraid? She hated that she doubted them, but this situation was to dire and she was alone. Ben couldn't drop his duties as King for her, she wasn't like Mal, his Lady. The there was Doug. Once upon a time when her relationship was only slightly there with Doug, he had abandoned her in her time of need at the first mistake that showed her villainous roots. She had forgiven him for that since it had been her fault in knocking out Chad, yet it still hurt. They never spoke about what had been said, that Chad had called her a gold digger and she wondered if that was still true of her now. Did he brush that moment away because of her background and would he now brush her away because of how he had been hurt?

Doubt was toxic, it clouded her judgement. Was she truly good...was she truly happy?

Left to her own poisonous thoughts, Evie was silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was something that was bothering Harry as he strode alongside Uma, but what that could be, was elusive. His clothing was waterlogged and his satchel seemed weighed down by the water it retained, and in addition he was carrying Gil's bag since Gil was carrying the princess. Something about the sight of her had pissed him off, maybe it was the memory of her from the Isle. Sword in hand and fighting back, who the hell had taught her to wield a sword? She had held her own and that infuriated him, how dare she live her perfect little life and be capable of such feat. If he hadn't of been so caught up in getting at Ben, he wished he had been the one to face her. A bloodlust sang deep in his marrow to of been able to wipe that flirting smile from her lips and replace it with fear. He would of carved up that pretty face so that no prince would of wanted her to be his little wife and it would of been so easy. He had noticed how small and delicate her jaw had been in his hand and he had been tempting to crush her jaw right there, but she had a role to play and he couldn't be impulsive just then. Yet.

He kicked at stones as they exited the cave and immediately crossed into a dense forest. The sight of so many trees only furthered his anger. How dare Auradon be full of lush life and greenery while the Isle suffered under thick layers of smog. The forest was alive with sounds and he hated it, hated the thriving life that mocked his existence. Everything he had wanted as a wee lad was before him now. Tall and proud trees that could of been the giants he battled as a boy or possibly the timber of a magnificent ship of his own. Birds flying overhead in the fading sunlight could of been the birds he looked for as a sign of land ho. Even the crisp taste on the air was mocking him as he felt invigorated by it instead of smothered like the air of the Isle. He wanted to blame someone and the only one he could think to blame, was Evie.

She was here and she was accessible, and he looked back to Gil to catch sight of her. Aye, he had a fair view of her backside as her shortened blue dress was hiked up to mid thigh. All that fair skin, he bet it was smooth to the touch and could redden easily when struck. Even her small little hands he reckoned would be soft, having not ever been subject to hard manual labor other than lifting a brush to her hair. He'd bet his hook that she never had her hands smacked with cold steel in training nor her palms beaten for failure. Even Uma's hands were rough from working at her mum's shop! Nay, he reckoned that the little princess was raised on a pedestal so that she'd be the pretty little songbird for some pathetic prince to keep in a gilded cage.

Gil caught his eye and he glared, but Gil just starred back in confusion before he followed his gaze towards the princess and he looked even more confused. Harry rolled his eyes and jerked his head right round, scowling murderously once more upon the forest before him. Before long, he was pestering Uma with a gruff, "where we headed captain?"

"Deeper into the forest there is a small hunting cabin, abandoned by the looks of it. I found it before the Cotillion and wiped it from everyone's memory using an altered spell from Mal's spellbook. Same idea in a way that Maleficent used to cast those kingdom's into slumber. She had to wipe it from peoples memories so they wouldn't just chance in and out of the old palace and possibly ruin her spells." Uma snorted in contempt and rolled her eyes, "stupid really but hey, it gives us a hiding spot right under the King Beastie's nose and Mal's." 

"Clever Captain," he responded with a hint of admiration, aye, if they could stay out of sight then Mal and her little group would have to comply with their demands. Wait...."we're free, what more are ye gonna ask for?"

"A ship."

Oh.

That made sense, he admitted while berating himself for not catching on to the obvious so quick. Where else did a pirate belong but at sea. "Gonna get us a right old pirating ship eh?" The thought was a pleasing one, but his thoughts were wandering and his brow furrowed in thought. He could recall happier times with his Da, listening to his Da talk about ships with such reverence that the love of a vessel had run itself deep into his own heart. Pirate ships were one thing, but the war ships of the 16th to 19th were another and Harry was struck by a grand idea.

"A Man-o-War, that's what we should get captain. A proper vessel that could crew a hundred men and carry a vast cargo with 124 guns that could put the fear of the God into men." He spoke almost lovingly, swept away into the grandeur of the predecessor of the galleon. Stories of man-o-war's overtaking pirate vessels should of made him resent the large warships but he couldn't, he couldn't squash the dream to sail upon a ship that could destroy any pirate crew that thought to challenge him. Uma's laugh drew his attention and he glanced at his captain who was seemed to be far away in thought herself.

"Your dad's stories eh?" She knew him to well and he grinned, the first grin to spread across his features since hauling ass out of a limo and into the sea. Harry was no fool, he knew that their first problem with a man-o-war would be having the crew to man it but a boy could dream could he not?

"Aye, I can still hear the timbre of his voice as he regaled me with tales of piracy upon the seven seas." He carried on flamboyantly, waving a hand in the air with a lavish twist of the wrist as he mockingly leaned forward as though bowing.

"It has a nice ring to it, man-o-war....." and it was with that statement he knew he had her hooked. "But..." or maybe not, "those were old ships Harry and we don't have the crew to man a vessel of that size. Not unless we modernized it." Of course she would point out the one major flaw they both knew about, and he felt a wrinkle of contempt flare through him directed at the old crew for being weak. _Modernize_

Blasphemy. To modernize a frigate of such strength, but he could see it being practical in this time. "Aye, a modern engine would be of use but the ability to sail using the wind would be good to captain. For going off the grid," he calculated the alterations that could be made to a man-o-war in order for it to keep it's original integrity but also be a modern ship and he found it able to be done. To say he was giddy at the thought of getting a ship he had dreamed about, was an understatement. "Modern gunnery doesn't require gun powder or heavy cannonballs, and we'd not need a vast crew so quarters would be easy to update." Harry couldn't keep the excitement from his voice and judging from Uma's wide grin, she was just as excited by the idea no matter if it was attainable or not. They were languishing in the innocence of children at play, able to voice out actual dreams they would want to see made reality since they weren't bound by the cold shackle of reality that was the Isle of the Lost.

"It sounds good Harry, and we have our golden ticket to acquire such a ship."

They shared a grin and Harry forgot that just a few minutes ago, he was ready to hurt their golden ticket. "Ah, there's the cabin!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gil put on an ounce of speed as the cabin came into sight and with good reasons too! All the sounds of the forest were stirring instincts in him that his dad, if he were there, would of proclaimed were his natural instincts to be a hunter. To get out into the wild and catch game was something he was so desperate in doing but he had to set the princess down first and probably change his clothes. Passing Harry and Uma, he gave them a cheeky grin and hustled up to the cabin door. He didn't bother to pause to give the others time to catch up and get the door. Instead, he barreled his unoccupied shoulder, against the door. Like being hit by a runaway train, the door was flung open and Gil stepped inside with a goofy grin plastered all over his face.

He shortly paused though and glanced about the cabin, even without a source of light as night approached, he was able to make out a few distinct objects. Mainly the collection of animal heads mounted to all four walls as well as the large black bear pelt strewn in the center of the room. While his memories of his father were not all pleasant, Gil had a few in which his father would tell him about hunting adventures and how to trap your game. With his gaze steadily upon the bear pelt, Gil recalled a giant monstrosity of a bear that his dad had called 'The Bear from Hell' and how it had nearly ripped Gaston's throat out with its claws. His father had said that the bear had had a huge scar running from its' my muzzle to left ear, just like the bear pelt on the ground.

"Oi, shift yerself!" Harry's indignant call came from behind him before the pirate shoved Gil roughly to move forward. Gil shuffled to the side, shifting Evie into his arms in a bridal style carrying position and approached the pelt. Amidst the thick black fur, he set her down before his right hand fell into the black fur and edged towards the scarred portion. 

"This place was my dad's!" There was an awe to his voice as he looked up and towards his friends. Harry looked like he didn't believe him but Uma's face opened up and she looked about the room suddenly and laughed, slapping Harry on the back much to his dislike.

"Your right! That must be why it felt so familiar to me, the same lack of creativity in the decorating," and she pointed at each mounted trophy before pivoting on one foot and placing her hands on her hips like she was ready to start giving out orders. "Harry, you start up a fire there," and she pointed to the fireplace against the far wall. "Get out of those clothes before you get sick, a useless pirate is of no use to me!"

Harry jumped to the task at hand of lighting the fire while Gil turned to look at Evie. A frown etched itself across his face as he observed the silent princess who was seated upright and had her legs drawn to her chest. She must of forgotten about her dress and he averted his eyes as to not look at where she was flashing her undergarments at him. He cleared his throat and reached out, catching the edge of the bear pelt and folding it over where her legs had been in his memory. He didn't need to see her to know that she flinched and almost jerked back, but must of realized his intent as she eased up and even whispered a soft thank you.

"Let me get that for ya," he then began to say as he glanced back at her and inched forward, slowly reaching towards her face to remove Harry's scarf. As he unwound it from about her head, he tried to be gentle as to not catch her hair or hurt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liquid chocolate eyes met his suddenly and a wry smile was barely visible on her lips before she looked cautiously about. Evie didn't even bother to hide the scrunch of her nose as she took in the decorations before her gaze found Harry and she felt her jaw drop.

The male pirate had a fire blazing in the fireplace and had already stripped off his signature red leather coat and tank top. His head was bowed as his back was presented towards her, but she could tell he was fumbling about with his belts so his breeches would soon be on the ground as well. The expanse of his shoulders was impressive since she could only connect such a toned physique to Jay prior to this moment. Yet there it was, a masterpiece of sinew and muscle beneath fair skin that was flawless except for what looked like three whip lashes that extended from Harry's right shoulder to above his hip on the left side. She knew she should look away before she was caught but should couldn't help but stare as the pirate yanked off his belts and let them drop to the floorboards. His thumbs tucked into the sides of his breeches, causing his back to flex before he pushed the breeches to the ground and that is when Evie snapped her head to look anywhere but at him.

Instead, her gaze found Uma's and she felt like curling up and dying from mortification at the look on Uma's face. Uma was way to amused with the situation and the female pirate looked between her and Harry to Evie's horror. The last glance that Uma gave Harry seemed to linger as the female pirate boldly eyed her first mate from head to toe and then back up again, before looking back to Evie and giving her a wink.

"Harry, you stay here with the princess. I'm going to go scout out the area where we'll be meeting up to do the exchange. Gil, you told me once your dad used to lecture you for hours on how to hunt right?"

Evie allowed herself to briefly glimpse a peek at Harry before she looked to Gil. Much to her relief, Harry was already buckling up a new set of breeches that must of been dry from his satchel. The princess turned her attention towards Gil who was grinning like a madman as he stood up and saluted Uma vigorously.

"Yeah he did, can I go hunting? Now?" He seemed so eager that Evie could imagine a dog's tail wagging constantly behind him. 

"That's why I'm asking, duh."

Uma's teasing tone was all in good fun was what Evie could tell as the female pirate tossed Gil what looked to be a rifle. Her brow furrowed as she questioned where the gun had come from in the first place and her gaze wandered about the room to see if she could find an answer. An answer she found right behind Uma as she saw two pegs now empty and made the educated guess that the gun had been mounted there.

"On it captain!" The boy was so eager that he practically skipped out the door with Uma following, but at a much more casual pace. The grin on Uma's face was unsettling and Evie glanced again at Harry who had his bare arms crossed in front of his bare chest as he scowled at Uma.

"You two behave," was all Uma said as she laughed and briskly stepped outside, swinging the door shut with an echo that seemed to ring like bells in Evie's head. Evie drew in a breath and slowly dropped her gaze to the floorboards. At first there was silence, and then she heard him move towards her. When his shadow fell upon her, she dared to look up and her breath hitched in her throat at the malicious smile that was settled upon Harry's lips. His voice was a low rumble as he crouched down slowly and reached a hand to snag the part of the pelt that was covering her lower body.

"It's just the two of us now princess."


	5. Tempest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gods has it been an insane last couple weeks with AnimeWeekendAtlanta and a family reunion in TX! Thank you all for your patience and I hope this one hits home that I'm a sadistic writer that likes to draw out the tension.

The god had had his chance, moving like a lethargic fog while the barrier was down. Right under the noses of the bratty little King and his little sidekicks, right under the nose of the self proclaimed pirate "queen" of the Isle and her equally deluded crew. Children shouldn't play at the table of grown ups when there was power to be had, and what power was to be had!

Hades reformed on the shore, miles away from where Uma had made her little hiding hole. He'd rather not risk detection yet because while he was victorious in being free, the god was not victorious in coming into his Godhood again. He felt like himself again but barely, it was a teasing power that lurked in the marrow of his bones but dared not seep into the blood for some reason or another. Zeus had to of been meddling or had meddled years ago. Could his uppity brother of had the foresight to squash his uprising once more, ev en before it had started?

A cold fury swept through him and he raked his fingers down his face with a snarl, alas, he knew his brother was never one for clever plans such as this. He couldn't raise the monsters without held and he sat down hard upon a rock and fisted his hands beneath his chin to sulk and stew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You. Lost. THEM!"

It was rather impressive that Carlos could hear the punctuation between each word as Mal whirled on Jay and slammed her hands into his broad chest. Jay, built of solid muscle, let her do it since she couldn't really hurt him. Yet that didn't stop the wince of guilt to flicker briefly over his features as he reached up to encircle the raging Mal, and draw her into his arms for a much needed a hug. Mal instantly deflated and Carlos breathed a sigh of relief, slowly turning his gaze to where Ben was seated at his desk and whispering urgently into his phone. He caught the words 'missing,' 'Evie,' 'pirates,' and 'demands' but he didn't want to dwell on what words could of been between them all.

Adrenaline he hadn't been aware of riding, escaped him and he sagged back into a chair and folded his arms defensively across his chest. Guilt settled in as he tried to avoid looking towards Doug who was getting more and more morose as time passed. Guilt ate at Carlos' mind, guilt that he should of predicted this outcome given the irrational and impulsive behaviors of one Harry Hook. From what he had seen of Harry, Gil, and Uma when on the Isle, was telling in a sense. Uma wore the captain's hat but she looked to Harry for advice and support since it was Harry that most of the younger pirate community feared. Harry was a dark horse that even the older generation was wary to cross and he enjoyed being Uma's strong right hand. Gil was the muscle without reservation and always up to do whatever the other two were up to. Harry's rash escape from the limo and over the bridge was pure insanity. If Uma hadn't caught them, they would of snapped their necks upon hitting the water. Where Harry's actions were rash, Gil's were instinctive as he had followed without batting a lash.

Absolutely-positively-insane. The lot of them.

Carlos groaned and scrubbed his face, jumping to his feet because he was getting restless and antsy. Knowing Evie was out there with Uma was one thing, but being out there with Harry was another since Evie was, well she was special. All princess and self confident, while her friends were around. Yet Carlos knew she was still insecure about certain things and the major insecurity was her own self worth. He could only pray that Harry would never be left along with her since she was everything Harry hated in what he knew of her.

"Stupid pirate."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Harry relished the look of panic that swept across the little princess' face as his fingers of his left hand curled into the fur of the rug. He leaned forward, grinning maliciously as he tossed the folded part of the rug aside and reached out quickly with his right to snare her left ankle. As his fingers curled tight about her slender ankle, she twisted about and tried to wiggle from his quickly but he was ready. He jerked hard on her captured ankle and she fell flat with a gasp.

He wished the rug hadn't been present so that she had fallen hard against cold wooden floors instead of soft fur, but the fun had only began. She had a lot to answer for in his book and without Uma to reel him in or Gil to awkwardly draw his ire, she was all his.

"Now why'd ya have to go on do that princess? I just wanted to see what perfect fair skin looked like up close ya know?"

Pinning her legs down, he reached for her opposite hip and made to turn her abruptly about. He wasn't gentle with her, dropping her upon her back and swiftly moving to straddle her waist before he let his weight settle upon her. Her bound hands were behind her and while the rug cushioned them, he could see the pain in her eyes as he back had to arch to situate his body seated upon her. Wide brown eyes looked up at him, her blood red lips parted in a soundless scream as her rich blue tresses framed her face and pooled beautiful against the black fur. It was picturesque for some sappy romance scene before the dashing princess made to loosen a fair maiden's bodice. Harry grinned feeling savage and fierce, he had the upper hand as he idly leaned back and rested his hands just below her ribcage. He felt her take a shaking breath and he watched her struggle to regain her composure.

"Cause I'm sure, a prim little princess such as ye," he continued, drumming his fingers upon her still form as she froze, "why, ye never had to work a hard day's work eh? No scrubbing the decks. Not with them pretty nails eh? I'd bet ye that your just as flawless in skin as your Ma's darling Snow White."

Evie was still silent, not that he cared. He didn't care if she ever spoke to him.

"One has ta wonder, does Mal share the Beastie Wee King with ye? Or are you one of those sly little tarts, sleeping with those next in line just in case there's ever a run in with poison?"

Those words struck a nerve as Evie's eyes narrowed and she hissed a sharp, "shut your foul mouth Harry. Don't pretend to know me!"

"AH, she speaks!"

He lifted his right hand and gave her side a heavy handed smack, but to his distaste, Evie didn't react. Her teeth were gritted as she spat at him, her delicate shoulders raising from the rug as she attempted in vain, to buck him off of her. "Shut up, shut UP!" She was screaming now, tears pricking at her eyes as he merely laughed in her face. A roll of his eyes and he got upon his knees which allowed her to shift and roll upon her side. Her shoulders hunched as if she were trying to fold into herself and Harry laughed again, earning himself a heated glare as she snarled, "get the fuck off of me!"

"Now now," he quipped, feigning hurt feelings as he curled an arm under her and drew her flush to his chest, "such language will never get ye that crown I bet your dying to wear." She struggled in his grasp which only made him grip her tighter, constricting his arm tightly across her ribcage until he had her gasping for air. His head bowed into her tresses, breathing in the scent of some apple fragrance as he nuzzled almost intimately against her cheek. "Don't lose your breath over me princess, you might never get it back." He whispered with false sugar against her ear before teasingly nipping at her earlobe. She stilled again and he drew out a sweet gasp of fear before it turned to pain as he bit down a bit harder.

The princess reacted then in a way he had never predicted. He assumed she'd sob big wet tears and beg for her life. He didn't expect the blow before it was to late as she jerked her head away from him and he released her earlobe in surprise before she struck. Her head slammed into his and he bit his own lip from the force of it as she rocketed her head against his face. It staggered him and his shock was so great, that he more or less let his arm around her go while forcefully pushing her down with his other hand.

Once again she fell hard but this time there was no gasp of pain as he staggered to his feet with a growl. Her voice was hard as steel as she snarled, "fuck you."

Wiping blood from his mouth, that bitch, he snarled in return. "Aye princess, you couldn't please me enough to make up for that little stint." 

His vision cleared again and he looked down at the defiant princess between his legs as she glared with loathing at him. She must of bit her own lip at some point in time in that little skirmish, as blood made her lips look wet and glistening. Harry's blood sang with anger as he leaned down and he wrapped both his hands about her throat. He applied pressure and lifted her bodily from off the ground and he strode swiftly towards the back wall. Her shoes dragging along the floorboards, her legs giving weak jerks here and there as she fought him every step of the way.

There was no reservation as he slammed her against the wall and leaned in, hissing in her face, "yer no princess I bet. Your momma raised you to be just like her, another gold digger with pretty legs to spread." Spit landed on her face as he held her firm and off the ground. Her eyes fluttered rapidly as she fought to stay conscious as loss of oxygen to her brain made her dizzy. Before she could pass out, he just let her go and she crashed to the ground with a strangled sob and promptly drew her legs to her chest.

Harry's chest was heaving, he hadn't realized he had gotten so worked up as he towered above a battered Evie. He scowled and resisted the urge to pick her up and shake her like a ragdoll. How dare she evoke this much emotion from him, how dare she effect him like his old Da. An ugly truth was rearing its head, that being that she was just like him. His fate had never really been in his hands at a young age as he had been raised to be his dad's son. He had defied his Da and look at where it had got him in the long run, still on the Isle and still just another villain. The princess had defied her mother and look where it got her, off the Isle and in Auradon where she could do whatever her little pretty head could desire.

A growl resonated in the back of his throat and he jerked violently away, curling and uncurling his fists as he paced the floorboads with heavy footsteps. Curses and the likes flying from his lips as he paced, his back to Evie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She ached and she hurt but she hadn't been beaten yet. Yes, she felt broken and trodden, but her anger fueled her like a cold flame at her core. She didn't give in to the fear or the pain, she didn't let herself lose her rational into the darkness. Instead, she formulated a plan as she cried as quietly to herself as she could. Harry wasn't paying her any mind, his back was to her and he didn't think her capable to escape.

Evie hated that that was still a perception of her, even from a villain's child that had hardly grown up alongside her. She knew what the others had seen of her when it came to life upon the Isle. She was well aware of the vapid and superficial mask she had worn to mask her true intellect as she sang on and on about finding a prince. Mother was always present on the Isle and a simple slip would lead to no meals and no contact of any sort with another soul. Isolation was a cold mistress and the mistress didn't tend to tear streaked faces or raw throats from screaming.

She wasn't a defenseless little princess.

It was with that in mind that she went to work, flexing her stiff fingers as she rotated her large heart ring into her palm. It's sharp faceted edges along the bezel were a chance to cut at her bindings if set her mind to it and worked as quickly as possible. Her body was in pain but she pushed through it, willing her fingers to cooperate as she sawed as efficiently as she could. All the while repeating the mantra _I am more than my mother_ in her head.

The last tendril that bound snapped at the very moment that Harry turned towards her again. She tensed, frantically tucking the severed binds out of his line of sight while preparing for come what may.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not finished with this scene but I'm coming down with something or another. Update will be soon, I promise~


	6. Riptide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AS promised~

It took one, well thrown rock to break up the little huddle going on in Ben's office. A well lobbed rock that shattered the window and set shards of glass tinkling to the floor in seemingly slow motion as Carlos jolted upright from where he was seated. The effect was instantaneous around the room as Mal jerked away from Jay and nearly jumped out the window, but was restrained last at the last second by Jay. Ben hung up on whoever he was speaking with and nearly ran to Jay and Mal's side and Carlos frantically looked around the floorboards for the offending rock in case there was something more.

He attributed that piece of smart thinking to all the cliche films he had binged in his spare time, always scowling at the barbaric practice of writing a note to a piece of paper and then wrapping it about a brick. It was always a whole brick and it made him wonder where someone would just find a single brick, or did they just purchase one lone brick for window breaking.

"Ben, here!"

If the situation hadn't been so dire, he would of laughed at the picture they must of painted as he handed Ben the note. Ben in turn, looked to Mal for permission to read the note before unfolding the piece of paper and clearing his throat to read it aloud. 

"I have Evie and she's unharmed, for now. Meet us in two days time, five miles north of Belle's harbor. We want a ship, versatile in both modern tech and somewhat designed in the man-o-war fashion," he paused at that, scowling and glancing at Mal who looked just as dumbstruck by the brazen and impossible demand.

"Who the hell just has that kind of ship just, sitting aside?!?" Mal's voice was strained as though she wanted to start cursing up a storm, or jump out the window and rain down fire in a ten mile radius. "I swear, that punk is making ridiculous demands to just ge-let me go Jay!"

Jay shrugged but complied, silently releasing Mal and folding his arms across his chest as he shifted his weight to one side and brooded. Carlos wanted to brood as well but knew that wouldn't help anything at the time.

"There's more," Ben added, a bit quietly and by the way his eyes were glued to the paper, Carlos felt an ominous tug at the pit of his stomach. Once again, Ben cleared his throat and continued in a monotone voice, "no need to look so glum Mal, you have your little cheat sheet spell book once more and access to a magical wand or a fairy godmother's little girl. You can make it work, you always do. And she signed it." He handed the paper to Mal who more or less snatched it from his fingers, turning away from them all to re-read and stew over Uma's demands. Judging by the tension in Mal's shoulders, the way Ben massaged his temples, and Jay's perpetual silence, Carlos lapsed into silence as well.

The silence lapsed for what felt like an eternity before Carlos rose and made for the door, his gait heavy like his thoughts but he knew what needed to be done. As his hand wrapped about the doorknob, he heard Doug speak up almost accusingly, "where are you going?"

He turned, a forced smile upon his face as he looked at Doug and then the rest of them before looking towards Mal, "to get Jane." Before Mal could interject or argue that they didn't need to bring anyone else into this, he lifted his other hand in mock surrender before speaking gently to Mal as though apologizing, "I know Mal. We both know though that your mom's spell book has nothing similar to what we need. She wasn't exactly about making things to use but destroying things, and we both know that you're stressed. You can't wing a spell, not this time. Not with who is at risk."

Evie's name was never spoken but it hung in the air between them, linking them all in thought. The looks of determination and acceptance each cascading over each of their features as they all nodded in agreement, Mal being last. It wasn't easy, Carlos knew that, he knew it wasn't easy for her to accept someone else's help and he knew she'd never admit it aloud that she was stumped at how to spell ad lib. Magic wasn't like that for the fairy godmother and her wand, but it was a risk on whether or not Jane would be able to pull of the feat.

"I'm going to go get Jane," he looked to Jay and added, "and Lonnie. She helped us before, it doesn't feel right leaving her out now."

No one spoke but he didn't need an answer, Carlos was taking charge and he went off in search of Jane and Lonnie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry felt unsteady as he paced towards Evie, like the ground beneath him was teetering left to right and he wasn't used to this feeling. He'd been raised on his Da's ship and he had lived for years upon Uma's so he wasn't new to the sensation of rocking to and fro, but this was different. It felt darker and it was tainted by the resentment he could practically feel in his mouth like bile. He knew what others said of him, he was wild and unpredictable so why did it feel like he had reached a new level of insanity within the last few minutes?

He got violent plenty of times when skirmishes broke out among the other pirates or rival gangs on the Isle, but always against armed and equally battle ready opponents. Was it guilt that Evie had been neither, was it self loathing that darkened his spirits at the sight of what he had done? He had made others bleed and lived for it, but the glisten of Evie's blood was like a kick to the gut as he caught the flicker of defiance in her eyes as he approached. She wasn't armed and she hadn't been ready for him to blow his fuse, and that just irked him that despite that, he felt like the one who had lost. Yet he couldn't let doubt weaken him so he attempted to call back that rage and fire as he reached out once more to grab her by her shoulders and haul her to her feet.

Once again, the blow came from the left field and caught him unaware. She had laced her fingers together and swung at his head, he hadn't realized it til to late and her blow knocked him pretty good to the skull. The princess then followed it up by hurling her weight forward, slamming her entire body into his shoulder to further disorientate him and drive him back. His footing gave way beneath him and he fell backwards, the scuffle of her heels gaining traction on the floorboards alerting him that she had somehow found a way to stand or get leverage. Her weight descended upon his chest as his back slammed into the ground and he felt the air forced from his lungs as she landed hard upon his diaphram.

An elbow was rammed into his throat as she seemed to flail about, striking at him where she could find her pound of flesh to take. He was taken aback and dazed, his vision swimming before his eyes and begrudgingly admired her tenacity, all the while wondering how the blazes she had gotten her hands free. Clearing his head and blocking out the pain from where ever she attacked him, he countered by rolling towards her in order to pin her down once again and stopping her limbs from taking more blows to his body. How he thanked the absence of Uma and Gil in that regard, for he'd never live down being taken down by the blue headed princess of their youth.

Harry more or less collapsed his weight upon her lower body, while she was on her side. His vision still a bit blurred but able to make out the form of her arms as she shoved both her hands upon his shoulder in attempt to roll him off of her. He outweighed her easily and used his right arm to seize her hip and pull her towards him and more under his own form. Despite his more slender build, he was greatly blessed in upper body strength and she slid alongside him. He tucked her against him with a growl that lacked real bite to it. His other arm snaked beneath her head and cradled her thus with the back of her skull in the junction of his elbow and his palm pressed into the floorboard as he held her to him. Wary of another headbutt, he rested his forehead to hers and used his strength to keep her immobile while he caught his breath.

"Princess," he said gravely, but still with a hint of exhaustion from the whole ordeal of wrestling her into submission. His vision cleared and he was met with the shadowed glare from her narrowed brown eyes as she bared her teeth at him like a she wolf and blew hot air into his face. Their proximity was dawning on them both as the hand upon her hip still maintained its steady grip, but his fingers spread out and dragged at the fabric of her dress. He silently marveled at the quality of it beneath his fingers while he felt her hands on his shoulder lighten. The tips of her fingers slipping upwards as she moved her hands so that one was on each side of his neck. Her touch was gentle but the fire in her eyes was all ferocity and it made him question and scowl and second guess everything that was happening. Her hip rocked into his and his breath caught and he coughed to hide the groan that almost slipped from his lips. 

"Princess...." a thumb ran along his jaw as she trailed her fingers to the back of his neck and he closed his eyes, lured in by the tantalizing sensation and completely missed the look of victory that flashed in Evie's eyes or the wicked smirk that blessed her lips before her nails dug deep. A scream ripped from his throat as his back seemed to spasm at the pain that raced through him as she savagely attacked at some sort of pressure point. He forgot about the importance of keeping her restrained as he jerked away from her to escape her grasp. He didn't realize nor feel her hand dive into his pocket, he didn't see her remove a small knife he must of stowed away there. He didn't see her slash at the binds that were still about her legs in such a manner, that she nicked her own skin and drew blood in order to escape.

And Harry most definitely did not see her get to her feet as he screamed, "I'll kill ye!," before she kicked him hard in the chest and bolt for the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had seen her window and she had jumped at the chance. Not an ounce of regret was to be found as she felt her foot make contact with Harry's unprotected stomach and she could of cheered with glee at the way he curled in on himself. Evie knew she had to get out of there, she didn't doubt that he'd kill her not after what he had put her through.

She flew to the door and flung it open, stumbling out into the crisp night air and nearly whopped with delight at being free. She was sore and tired, but adrenaline did wonders to a body in need as she ran into the thickest part of the forest just in case Harry got to his feet again and made to make good on his threat. Consideration on where she was didn't cross her mind or she would of been more rational in her choices of escape. Fight or flight was kicking in and she knew death was more than likely at her back and would be nipping at her heels if she didn't start running soon.

Evie completely missed the fact that Gil was emerging from the other side of the clearing at had caught sight of her, his confusion followed up by him dropping the game he had hunted as he called out to her. All she heard was her name and panic surged through her and she ran, ducking into the depth of the forest as Gil called out to her "no! Not that way!"

She crashed through tree branches and rushed through greenery that snagged and ripped at her dress. Branches scratched at her face and smacked hard into her bare arms as she fought her way through the thick of it all, breathing hard as tears stung her eyes from the thorns that pierced into her legs as she ran. Her shoulders slammed into tree trunk's here and there as she fought to stay on a straight path, hoping with each breath that the next few steps would bring her into some kind of clearing. The ground beneath her shifted from grass and dirt to raised tree roots that she nearly tripped over until she did.

Her hands scrapped against rough roots as she fell to her knees. There was no rest to be found though as she heard her name being called faintly, but from what direction, she was not sure. As she struggled to her feet, her head whipped back and forth to see which way she should go. Every direction looked the same and the darkness wasn't helping as even moonlight couldn't pierce the thick canopy of trees. The irony of it all wasn't lost to her, this must of been what Snow White had felt as she ran through the forest and saw demons and monsters within the forest. Evie knew there were no monsters anymore, not since Ben's father had made the Isle. Man was the only monster now, and her monster to fear was hunting her at that moment.

"Evie!"

Her name was yelled louder now and she bit back a cry, placing the voice to her immediate back as she scrambled forwards and rushed headfirst through an overgrown hedge-like vegetation only to come to a violent halt at the fifteen foot drop immediately on the other side. Her balance wobbled and she sought out a tree limb to pull back on, but that's when her bad luck reared its head.

See, the thing in running in heels is that it can be murder. Up until that point, she had been running forward and her heels had never really made much contact with the ground. Yet as she rocked back, her heels sunk into the dirt and when Evie made to move her legs, the heels snapped and she felt herself falling. Instinct and self preservation saved her from snapping her ankles or the likes, but didn't help her from not falling forwards and down.

Down.

Down.

The ground rushed up to greet her and she landed upon her side, tears racing down her face as she lay there without the strength to rouse herself. Everything hurt and her name was growing closer and closer until she heard it being called above her. She didn't answer it as her world grew black and she slipped from consciousness and fell once more back into the clutchss of the monster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gil steadied himself as he leaned forward, catching sight of Evie's blue head and called down once more to her. He heard her muffled tears until she grew silent, "oh shit." It took him a few seconds to get down to her, but he made it down safely and approached her still form carefully. Her chest was rising and falling, so he knew she was still alive but that didn't make him feel any better as he gently moved her to her back. Steady fingers prodded along her form respectfully, taking great care to check that she hadn't dislocated her shoulders or broken any bones. A tentative first sweep only produced the possibility of a sprained wrist until he swept her blue tresses from off her face.

He gasped at what he found about her throat, "oh no, Harry what have you done." A ring of bruises encircled her slender throat, clearly from someone's hands. Gil sat back with a heavy thud, running his hands through her dark blonde hair as he inwardly cursed the other pirate's sheer brutality. Evie wore injuries from running through the forest, that was no doubt. Yet the bruises on her neck were a tell tale sign and Gil was positive that Uma would be livid.

As would Evie's friends when they saw them.

Gil was tender as he lifted her and once again, carried her bridal style. He had to take a long way around the sudden drop, but he moved with one accustomed to the forest and made sure she wasn't jostled in any way. His trek back to his dad's cabin was not in silence as he spoke quietly to the unconscious Evie, maybe for her being but more for his own as he felt guilt flooding him.

"I'm so sorry Evie, I shouldn't of left. I shouldn't of left you there with him, but I didn't think he'd let himself loose control with how important you are and Uma'll have his hide."

A half hour later and they emerged once more from the forest. Uma was back and she wasn't alone, Harry was seated outside the cabin and nursing a blackening eye. Uma's gaze fell to Evie and her jaw dropped, she made to question Gil but he shook his head and glared at Harry. Adjusting Evie's form so he could hold her momentarily with one arm, he gently swept her hair back again so that both Uma and Harry could see his handy work about her throat.

Before either could get anything in, Gil ground out a low threat of his own. The first threat he had ever made to Harry, "touch her again, and I'll break your hands."

He shouldered past Uma and went into the cabin, kicking the door behind him closed as Uma turned to Harry.

"What have you done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come now, cannot have her escaping that easy.
> 
> And yes, this is Hevie but again I digress, I'm a sadistic writer and I love making Harry suffer. He has a lot to make up for and his talk with Uma will bring to light why he might of reacted so violently towards Evie.
> 
> Gil's a doll tho isn't he?

**Author's Note:**

> First work posting so still working out the kinks in formatting, but this will be a multi chapter work.
> 
> Enjoy <3


End file.
